Bed mounting attachment for playpens



Dec. 9, 1952 R. s. BRUCE 2,620,490

BED MOUNTING ATTACHMENT FOR PLAYPENS Filed May 23, 1950 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR Dec. 9, R. S. BRUCE BED MOUNTING ATTACHMENT FOR PLAYPENS Filed May 23, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIG 7 Patented Dec. 9, 1952 UNITE es PATENT OFFICE BED MOUNTING ATTACHMENT FOR PLAYPEN S 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates in general to play pens for infants, and is more particularly described as a permanent or temporary attachment for a play pen which will permit its mounting on an adult bed or other similar structure for use as a crib by tension clamps formed by extensible slides, foldable legs and a suitable tension spring. The attachment is adaptable to either a rigid sided or folding type play pen and will not interfere with its normal functioning as a restricted play area for infants.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a play pen with the attachment mounted, in normal position.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a play pen mounted on a bed with the attachment slides extended and the legs folded down to clamp the sides of the bed.

Figure 3 is a side view of the attachment at rest; Figure 4 is a bottom View of the attachment at rest; Figure 5 is a cross section on the line a-a, Figure 3; Figure 6 is a detail of the latch; and Figure 7 is a view of one end of the attachment extended for mounting on a bed. Since both ends are identical and interchangeable, excepting that they extend in opposite directions, one end only is detailed in Figure '7.

While two complete units as shown in Figure 3 are required in use as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the units are identical in construction; one only, therefore, is hereafter described in detail.

The attachment is composed of a rigid hanger support formed by securely attaching the angle supports 2 to a plate I with the flanges facing inwardly. Two slides l0, constructed so as to slide easily on the angle supports 2, are fitted into the hanger support. The slides in are identical in construction and are interchangeable but extend in opposite directions in the hanger support. Each slide I0 is preferably somewhat less than half as long as the total length of the angle support unit as shown in Figure 4, and is slotted 8 (or drilled) from the concealed end a portion of its length to receive a suitable tension spring 9 which is attached to both slides it by pins H so that the two oppositely extending slides 10 are connected and are provided with equal tension. Pins 1 are provided to act as stops to the slides [0 when retracted and to prevent the slides H] from being pulled out of the angle supports 2 when being extended or otherwise. The pins 1 are preferably placed so that a slight tension is maintained on the spring 9 when the slides ID are retracted.

A leg 3 is attached to the slide it by a suitable hinge 6, the leg 3 extending beyond the end of the slide I0 by a distance equal to the thickness of the slide [0 so that greater holding strength is attained when the leg 3 is folded down to clamp the bed. A caster 5, the flat base type mounted with screws being the most desirable, is attached to the leg 3 for ease of moving the play pen about. A latch 4 is attached to the leg 3 by a pin l4 and engages a pin l3 installed on the angle support 2 as detailed in Figure 6 to keep the leg 3 rigid when moving or picking up the play pen.

The bed mounting attachment for play pens can be secured to the play pen by screws, nails, or pins extending through the angles 2 and into the lower rigid horizontal rails usually used on play pens, or otherwise attached; care must be taken, however, that the method of attachment does not interfere with the extensibility of the slides l 0 provided in the attachment. The play pen, thus equipped with the bed mounting attachment, is easily and firmly superimposed on an adult bed or similar structure as shown in Figure 2.

Since some modification of the play pen will usually be necessary in order to satisfactorily mount the attachment, probably to remove those portions of the play pen legs or corner posts extending below the horizontal rails, it is presumed that the attachment will usually remain as a permanent part of the play pen as shown in Figure 1.

The attachment can be made from wood, metal, plastic or other suitable material alone or in combination and the applicant does not limit himself to any one of these materials.

I claim:

An attachment for mounting a play pen on a bed adapted to be secured to the underside of the play pen comprising an elongated hanger unit, an elongated slide in said unit adapted to be extended from each end thereof, foldable legs on the outer ends of said slides, tensioning means adapted to draw the slides inwardly and clamp the legs against the sides of the bed, the said legs having casters on their outer faces, and latch means for holding the legs in horizontal position, when the play pen is removed from the bed, and with the casters in position to engage a floor.

ROBERT S. BRUCE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 215,040 Bostwick May 6, 1879 1,463,459 Comstock July 31, 1923 1,926,220 Xiques Sept. 12, 1933 2,504,028 Liefi' Apr. 11, 1950 

